mar, Oct 31st 2023
The vast majority of Swiss are satisfied with their financial situation. However, there are considerable differences depending on gender, level of education and income.
Three quarters of the Swiss population feel comfortable or even very comfortable with their financial situation, according to a ZHAW study published on Tuesday. The researchers define financial well-being as a state in which a person can meet financial obligations and feels secure about the financial future.
How comfortable a person feels with their financial situation depends on many very different factors. For example, women and divorced people have a significantly lower level of financial well-being. And homeowners also assess their situation better than tenants.
Higher education ensures greater well-being
The study also showed that well-being increases continuously with the level of education. Graduates of universities or universities of applied sciences therefore also showed the highest level of well-being of over 80 percent.
The proportion of people with a baccalaureate, BMS or diploma from a secondary school or with a federal certificate of proficiency, specialist diploma or master craftsman’s examination is also comparatively high at three quarters. Graduates of a vocational apprenticeship or a commercial school diploma fall somewhat behind with a share of two-thirds.
Meanwhile, a clear discrepancy is evident among people with only a compulsory elementary school degree. Here, only slightly more than half felt comfortable with their own financial situation.
In contrast, the differences between full-time and part-time employees, the self-employed and retirees are only slight. Around three quarters feel financially comfortable.
Only among students and people in education did a third of respondents express a very low to medium level of well-being. Only among housewives and househusbands is there a significantly higher proportion of dissatisfied people, at 43 percent.
Savings share remains high
Compared with the last study from 2018, savings behavior in Switzerland has not changed. Four out of five people are still putting money aside.
Almost three quarters of respondents (71%) save money for “security and freedom,” which is nine percentage points more than five years ago. Only then do categories such as vacations (59%) and retirement provision (55%) follow at a considerable distance. The increase in retirement provision was particularly pronounced at 11 percentage points.
“Year-on-year, we see above all that security savings have gained in importance as a means of cushioning oneself financially against the unexpected,” ZHAW researcher Selina Lehner classifies the figures.
Around 1050 people in German-speaking Switzerland were surveyed for the study in spring 2023. It was conducted by researchers from the ZHAW School of Management and Law.
©Keystone/SDA
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